OC test format explained, section by section

The NSW Opportunity Class Placement Test has three multiple-choice sections, taken on a computer at a test centre.

Reading: 14 questions, 33 answers, 40 minutes

The Reading section has 14 questions, but 3 of them have several parts, so there are 33 answers to give. That is less than a minute and a half per answer, including reading time, so steady reading speed matters.

Common question types include:

• Questions on one text: what happened, why a character acts in a certain way, what a word or phrase means, or what the writer's purpose is.
• Poetry: images, comparisons (similes and metaphors) and the feeling of a poem.
• Missing sentences: sentences are removed from a text, and children choose which sentence fits each gap. One option is extra.
• Comparing texts: several short texts on one topic, with statements to match to the right text.

Mathematical Reasoning: 35 questions, 40 minutes

Each question has five options. Questions cover number, fractions and decimals, patterns, measurement, time, geometry, data and chance, often wrapped in a real-life problem with more than one step. Speed and accuracy with mental arithmetic help a lot, because there are only about 68 seconds per question.

Thinking Skills: 30 questions, 30 minutes

One minute per question makes this the fastest section. Each question has four options. There are two broad kinds:

• Critical thinking: which statement strengthens or weakens an argument, what assumption is being made, where the reasoning goes wrong, and which conclusion must be true.
• Problem solving: ordering and logic puzzles, codes, number and shape patterns, and spatial questions such as turns, reflections, folding and cube nets.

See every question type in action in our free OC Mock Test 1, or practise one skill at a time on the practice page.